There's a lot of 21st century issues.
Almost every issue, every problem,
whether it's a health issue or a social issue or whatever,
has some kind of component that an engineer
would be useful at the table.
It's really important that you get an education where you're
not only learning how to become an engineer technically,
but you're someone who's going to be
really useful at that table.
The USF education, engineering education,
is designed in such a way that we're
going to make sure that engineers,
really truly educated engineers, have a seat at those tables.
We're being taught to be good people.
USF has really cracked the code of that.
I think what makes setting engineering
at USF unique is that it's a very mission-driven department
and that what we care about and the main focus is
on educating the entire person.
Humanitarian side of things, I definitely
think it changes how we solve problems.
We're also thinking deeply about racial and gender diversity
and how this affects all of us in the workplace.
And what the diversity brings, you know, so much more
to learn.
You bring all of these students who
come from different backgrounds, who
bring very different perspectives to the program.
We're trying to build this whole engineer.
Not just give you the technical skills,
but give you sort of the humanitarian skills as well.
Because we've been on COVID, we haven't
been able to actually have access to the maker space,
so we sent out kits to all the students in physics class
so that they can start building and designing things at home.
Hello.
My name is Ty De La Huerta.
And with the lab that I ran today,
we tested for inelastic and elastic collisions.
And with this-- this is my lab set up right here.
And simply, I flip with a car and that's how it's done.
One of the things that students are working on
are connected to these seed balls.
These seed balls are a way to create and increase
wildflowers and support pollinator communities.
And so students are learning about projectiles
by launching different seed balls around the neighborhood.
Despite not being on the campus, the strength
of the cohort, our relationship with our faculty,
it's all unlike anything I've ever heard of any college.
When we're in person, we have a brand new innovation hive
that's going to have 3D printers, laser
cutters, woodshop, that you're going to be involved with.
Honestly sounds just like a dream come true to me.
The Summer Zero program was designed
to foster community building amongst the engineering cohort.
We're putting a lot of effort, especially
in these remote settings, to build a good sense of community
amongst our students.
And it allowed me to make some really good friendships
right off the bat before college and even like really started.
You just get involved into this department
with so many amazing, smart, intelligent, helpful people who
want to help you be successful.
Together, we've got a lot of really bright minds.
Not just bright minds, but mind set on doing the right things.
Many students come in not quite sure knowing
where you need to fit and you don't
need to come in having a clear picture of where
you want to be in two years, four years, or six years.
You don't really even need to have a clear vision
for the next semester.
We provide a lot of different ways
to explore from a personal perspective
and also from a professional perspective.
The combination of the courses in the engineering program
really helps me understand the inner workings of engineering.
This is really a program that's designed for the students
to make them better citizens of the world,
and we are here to ensure that no matter what,
they are successful in it.
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